On the occasion of these festivities the Kaiser in 1904 paid a visit to the new premises of the Hamburg-Amerika Linie. In 1905 and in subsequent years he also visited Ballin's private home and took lunch with him. The speeches which he made at the regatta dinners given in connexion with the regatta on the lower Elbe frequently contained some political references. In 1908, for instance, he said:
"Although we do not possess such a navy as we ought to have, we have gained a place in the sun. It will now be my duty to see to it that we shall keep this place in the sun against all comers.... I, as the supreme head of the Empire, can only rejoice whenever I see a Hanseatic citizen--let him be a native of Hamburg, or Bremen, or Lübeck--striking out into the world with his eyes wide open, and trying to find a spot where he can hammer a nail into the wall from which to hang the tools needed to carry on his trade."
In 1912 he quoted the motto from the Lübeck Ratskeller:
"It is easy to hoist the flag, but it costs a great deal to haul it down with honour."
And in 1914, after the launch of the big steamer _Bismarck_, he quoted Bismarck's saying, slightly altered:
"We Germans fear God, but nothing and nobody besides."
Kiel Week never passed without a great deal of political discussion. The close personal contact on such occasions between Ballin and the Kaiser furnished the former with many an opportunity for expressing his views on politics. Much has been said about William II's "irresponsible advisers," who are alleged to have endeavoured to influence him in the interests of certain cliques, and it cannot, of course, be denied that the men who formed the personal entourage of the monarch were very far from representing every shade of public opinion, even if that had been possible. The traditions of the Prussian Court and of princely education may have contributed their share to this state of things. The result, at any rate, was that in times of crises--as, for instance, during the war--it was impossible to break through the phalanx of men who guarded the Kaiser and to withdraw him from their influence. Events have shown how strong this influence must have been, and how little it was suited to induce the Kaiser to apply any self-criticism to his preconceived ideas. Added to this, there was the difficulty of obtaining a private conversation with the Kaiser for any length of time--a difficulty which was but rarely overcome even by persons possessing very high credentials. It has already been mentioned that the Kaiser did not like to be contradicted in the presence of others, because he considered it derogatory to his sovereign position. Ballin repeatedly succeeded in engaging the Kaiser in private conversations of some length, especially after his journeys abroad, when the Kaiser invited him to lunch with him, and afterwards to accompany him on a walk unattended.